Trailer for automobiles



y 1937- D. F. HALL ET Al. 2,080,709

TRAILER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Aug. 16, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Want/7 A- Mama-qr pl EJ Inventor A ttor ney May 18, 1937.

D. F. HALL ET AL TRAILER FOR AUTOMOBILES 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Aug. 16, 1935 Dw/awr F HAM Wmmcv A- Map/mar i I Inventor Attorney Patented May 18, 1937 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRAILER. Foa AU'roMoamas I Dwight F. Hall and Walter A. Morkert, Polson, Mont. I

Application August 16, 1935, Serial No. 36,527

3 Claims.

Our present invention relates to improvements in trailers for automobiles and the invention in its broader aspect contemplates an attachment for automotive vehicles, which attachment is adapted to be hinged 'to the automobile, and

which also involves a foldable body portion, which body when folded is mounted on and carried pose of converting the automobile into a merchandise-delivery vehicle. When employed as an attachement for an automobile as herein illustrated, the convertible trailer is mounted on the rear bumper, or detachably connected with some other suitable part of the automobile.

The trailer is equipped with a pair of swiveled. detachably-mounted supporting wheels, resiliently mounted draft connections, adjustable mount for the tail lamp and license-plate holder, and other features required to provide a complete appliance of this character that may readily be manipulated for changes to suit different conditions in use. When folded and stored in inoperative position the trailer presents the ap-' pearance of a rear-trunk mounted on the automobile, and when unfolded and set for use the trailer provides a' practicable and appropriate luggage carrier of substantial capacity, or a carrier having a substantial capacity for stowing merchandise.

Our invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts as will hereinafter be more fully set forth and claimed. In the accompanying drawings we have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of our invention in which the parts are combined and arranged according to one mode we have thus far devised for the practical application of the principles of our invention. It will be understood, however, that changes and alterations may be made,- and are contemplated, in the exemplifying structures, within the scope of our appended claims, without departing from the principles of the invention.

Figure l is a view in side elevation showin the trailer in use, and illustrating, in section, the rear bumper of a vehicle to which the trailer is attached.

Figure 2 is a side view of, the folded, inoperative, trailer mounted on the rear fender or bumper of the automobile.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the folded parts of the trailer, broken away to disclose parts that are stored within the folded structure, or v Figure 4-is a view at the'rear of the trailer showing the mounts for the two wheels.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the swivel arrangement for the wheels, and

Figure 6 is a top plan view showing the detachable mount for the wheels and theloqking latch for the wheel-mount.

' Figure 7 is. a horizontal sectional view showing adjoining foldable parts of the body structure of the trailer, and the U-shaped spring latch or bolt for locking them together.

In order that we may illustrate the trailer as an attachement, we have shown in Figure 2 in side elevation, a portion at the rear .end of an automobile A, with the rear bumper B extending across and at the rear of the vehicle, and properly supported thereon. While the attaching means may be aflixed to any suitable part of the vehicle,

we have shown in Figure 1 the rear bumper B in section, to which two brackets are attached, one at or near each end of the bumper at opposite sides of the automobile. A bracket is indicated as I having a bracket plate 2, andby means of bolts 3 these parts are rigidly mounted on the bumper B to form a part of the coupling of the trailer, and each of these brackets is provided with an upper horizontal arm 4 fashioned with a stop lug. These two spaced bracket devices are designed for use as partiof the draft-coupling when the trailer is in use as in. Figure 1, and for alternate use in-supporting the folded trailer as a trunk, orcarrier when the trailer is not in use, as in Figure 2.

The portion of the draft-coupling mounted in the brackets comprises an upright rectangular slotted housing 5, rigidly mounted in the bracket device, and in which housing a vertically movable journal block 6 is adapted to move up and down, and

above and belowthis block are springs I and 8 respectively interposed between the block and the top and bottom of the housing.

A forwardly extending draw bar -8 of suitable length is fixed at the front corner on each side of the body of the trailer, and these draw bars are pivoted or hinged at ii to the resiliently mounted journal blocks 6 in the housings. Thus it will be apparent that the trailer is permanently coupled to the attaching brackets, that are mounted on the automobile, and that the remits absorption of relative movement between the rear end .of the automobile and the front end of adapted to be unfolded from the trunk-position of Figure 2 to the carrier position of Figure 1 the trailer due to irregularities in the road, thereby maintaining the trailer in its proper relation to the towing automobile.

The body of the trailer comprises two rectangu- 'lar sections H and I2, hinged together at I3 and where the draft bars 9 are shownattached to the co inner section II at their lower edges. The floor line of the body of the trailer indicated at F in Figure 1, it will be seen, is elevated above the bottom edge of the body of the trailer, and the side boards 20 andend board as 20 are mounted on and above the body in suitable manner.

The front section I i and the rear section I! are hinged so that the hinge joint I! is at the bottom edge of the body, and directly above the hinge joint, at the top edge of the body and on each side oi the trailer a locking plate M is bolted to the rear section I 2 and projects across the divid ing line between these hinged sections. As best seen in Figure '7 this locking device comprises two plates l4 and It at inner and outer sides of the body-section to which they are bolted. as l2, and the body-section, with the projecting endsof the, plates l4 and il'fare' provided with registering bolt holes as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 7. A transversely extending, springbolt i5 is mounted in registering holes in the body-section i2 and the plates and exterior of the body-section this bolt has a U-shape or hook It adapted to" pass through the holes of the section I I" and the plates, for locking the two sections together.

At the inside of the body section it the bolt has mounted thereon a spring ll interposed between the head and washer II and the plate I, and

this'sprinjg f tends to hold the hook-end It n its *boltghol'e; to lock the sections together. In Figure .2 where the two body section's are folded together to' for'r'n a trunk and the endboard reforms the top of the trunk, these two spring u bolt's may be ernployedto rigidly 'hold the topboard 2! of the trunk in placei The trailer issupported by means of two castor or swiveled wheels ll, one at each side of the trailer, anddet'achably mounted on the rear section l2, and'thelse wheels are canted .as in Figure 1' and toed-in as in Figure 4, to insuresmooth running of the trailer.

Each whcel is ioiii'naled in a yoke or fork nj',

and supported froni'a stationary, tubular or cyllndrical swivel-."head II with bearings iv for the enclosedspindlefl, and a spring 20 between the lower bearing and the yoke absorbs relative up and down movement between the swiveled wheel and its head IO.

At its inner side the stationary swivel-head II is fashioned with an integral horizontal bracket arm 2i from which rises an integral T-web or tenon 22, and this tenon ilts into the mortised plate 23 that is bolted to the exterior of the body-section i2 and fashioned with opposed flanges N to form the mortise for the tenon. The body-section, withits mortised plates, is first elevated, and then lowered. so that the mortised plate will slip down over the tenon and rest on the bracket arm 2i, and thereafter the weight on the trailer is supported by the wheels through these arms.

In Figure 6 a locking U-bolt l6, similar to the locking bolts l5 il, is illustrated for locking together the [mortise-plate and the tenon-plate "forming the mounts for these wheels, and these bolts I! of course prevent relative up and'down movement between the mortise-plate and the tenon-plate.

The trailer is equipped with a tail lamp L and license-plate holder P,, rigidly connected, and

' these parts are mounted so that they may be properly seen from the trunk as in Figure 2, and

fromthe rear end of the trailer as in Figure l.

For this purpose we employ a toggle-link hrachet 25 that is pivoted at 26 at the outer side of the body-section I2 near its rear end, and a spring 21 anchored at one end to the pivot 26 and attaehed at its other end to the holder P serves to hold these toggle links in their adjusted angular positions. In Figure 1 the spring holds the holder P against the rear flat face of the trailer. and in Figure 2 the spring holds the holder P against the back wall of the trunk formed by ike folded body-sections.

For setting up the trailer, the trunk is in!!! on its hinges, il in the direction of the and at the same time the two body are unfoidedon their pivots il in the directiim of the arrow, in Figure 2, and the rear lamp Lis pinperly adjusted. The two secti ms are then looked together, and the trailer is mounted'on itswhedg as heretofore described, after which operations the trailer is readv to betowed.

When nottobeusedasatrailer,thewheelsand their complementary mount pas'ts. as. well as the side boards. may be stored away in the trunk,

and as disclosed in Figure 3, space is [still left in the trunk for storage of other articles of luggage.

As seen in Figure 1 the draft arms I disposed at the outer sides of the coupling housings I prevent lateral movement of the trailer with relation to the automobile, and in Figure 2, the same arms also prevent lateral Sammi the trunk on in supporting arms I, and in addition, the

down the trunk on its preventing displacement of the trunk.

Having thus fully described our invention," what we claim as new and desire to secure by ters Patent'is:- v

1. A i'oldable trailer for automobiles comprising a horizontally extending front-section and,

means for coupling said section to an automobile compressed springs], under tension, tend rting arms I, j

whereby said section may be folded to vertical position, a rear section hinged at its bottom to the rear, bottom portion of the front section and adapted to fold in a vertical the front section, detachable for rigidly locking said sections in extended horiziontal puntion, a pair of supporting wheels, and means for mounting said wheels on the rear section.

2. The combination with an automotive vehicle having an attaching device and apair of spaced, fixed, supporting arms, of a trailer comprising a body-section hinged to said device below said arms, a second body section forming a unit and having its front bottom portion hinged to the rear bottom'portion of the first body section, means for holding said body sections in extended position.

a. In a foldable trailer, the combination with an automotive vehicle having an attaching device mounted thereon and a pair of fixed, horizontal supporting arms above the device, of a horizontaily extending body section forming a unit and means for supporting said. section in horizontal position, a pair of spaced drawbars fixed at the front of the section and hinged to'said device, said section being adapted to be swung to upright position on the supporting arms, and

means co-acting with. the draw bars and said attaching device. for retaining said section on the supporting arms.

WALTER A. uoaxaa'r DWIGHT p. HALL. A 

